Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about Mr X’s council tax support from 2018 to 2020. This is because he could have used his appeal rights and because it is a late complaint.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains about the Council’s calculation for his council tax support for 2018 and 2019. He says this resulted in him being asked to pay more council tax and caused financial difficulties.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
3. The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone can appeal to a tribunal. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to appeal. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(a), as amended)
4. We cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a council has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

5. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
6. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

7. Mr X complains the Council stopped awarding him council tax support in 2018. He says he was always entitled to council tax support and therefore feels the council made an error in its assessment. He says this is confirmed by the fact the support was reinstated in February 2020 although he suggests even then the Council calculated his council tax support wrongly. Mr X is dissatisfied the Council did not pay him council tax support in the meantime. He is also unhappy it sent enforcement agents to recover unpaid council tax, and that the enforcement agents demanded what Mr X considered to be unaffordable monthly payments.
8. I have not seen evidence the Council told Mr X of his right to appeal to the Valuation Tribunal when it stopped paying council tax support in 2018. However, Mr X knew in 2018 and 2019 that he believed the Council was wrong not to be paying council tax support. He also knew then that enforcement agents were involved and that he was dissatisfied with their actions. Yet he did not complain to us about those events until 2022. This complaint is therefore late. I appreciate Mr X had some mental health difficulties. However, he has evidently been able to pursue matters. I have not seen any good reason to investigate this complaint late.
9. If Mr X was unhappy with the calculation the Council made in 2020 he could have appealed to the Valuation Tribunal. So the restriction in paragraph 3 applies. The Council informed Mr X of this right at the time. It is reasonable to expect Mr X to have appealed because the tribunal is the appropriate body to consider disputes about council tax support awards and it can overturn the Council’s decision if it sees fit.
10. Any complaint about the Council’s decision in February 2020 is also late so we shall also not investigate it for the reasons in paragraph 8.

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Final decision

11. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because he could have appealed to the Valuation Tribunal and Mr X’s complaint is late.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman